...by its cover.  We know better than that.  Instead, if you're like me, you'll flip to the back and look for the character sheet instead.  Then go ahead and judge, if you want.  Sometimes you'll be pissed because its not in the back where it belongs, but you'll find it eventually.

Post a character sheet.  What does it say to you about the game?

Erois:

Bubbles? Shit, more dice pools.  Why are there 18 measures under Psychology?  Am I allowed to just role play my character?  Track my appearance? Is this a joke?  1/10 of a page for gear?  What am I going to do all session, primp to raise my appearance stat until I fail a roll against my pride? What's going on?  I'm cold and frightened.

The In Harm's Way: StarCluster Character Sheet, StarPool Version:



What does it say to you?

-clash

Well, the idea was that the poster could put up a picture and give their own summary.  I didn't want to start a thread where all I do is talk about my opinions on a character sheet.  But I'll give it another try...

Squares.  Why is everything a square.  Or a rectangle.  Lots of attributes, good... what the hell?  Why is every stat the first three letters of the full word except for Agility.  Is Agylity a word?  Anyway... check out the damage ranks.  Awesome, there's going to be some guts flying for sure.  Jesus fuck there's a lot of room for skills.  This book is going to be 70 percent skills.  I didn't like that about Alternity, but its not a deal breaker on its own.  Not too much room for customization here:  Could it be... Old-school... in space??

Well, the Erois sheet says "I'm pretty, but I'm going to mess with your head." Sort of like this girl I used to date.

The IHW: Starcluster sheet says "About damn time this game came out! Go buy me." Or something like that. (Hi, Clash!)

Uhhhh... I've got nuthin'.

First character sheet - I would play the hell out of this, but nobody I game with would touch it with a 10-foot pole.

Second sheet - Supplement 12: Forms and Charts.

I've already posted E.o.N, but for those who hadn't seen it: (Thumbnails to keep thread from low load times)



Vast Frontiers



Both the above sheets were designed by me.


Here is one designed for me, by the kindness of  William Corrie for my Derelict Delvers Game

What the hell is this?  What kind of a sick person did this to D&D?  And why is it always mice that get to play hero?  Or turtles.  I want to tear my eyes away from it, but I can't.  Maybe if I could get the damn mouse out of there...

Character sheets are one of the first things I look at in considering a game.  I won't even bother to read a free game if the character sheet is too distasteful.
 
Eoris - Way to twee, this game is going to be overwrought
 
IHW - standard ability/skill/edge breakdown.  Very orthogonal - the rules are likely going to be dry but I can deal with that as that was the norm for wargames.
 
Silverloin's:  Simple game, strong sense of style.  The first one has too strong of a background which will hide the stats.  Delvers looks like it's attempting new oldschool - fairly basic but it doesn't grab me.  The exclamation marks and orientation bother me.
 
mouse - standard old school D&D in furry version.  I wouldn't run it as it doesn't have much over all the other old school games that I play but I'd play it if someone else was running.

Quote from: Nicephorus;363010Silverloin's:  Simple game, strong sense of style.  The first one has too strong of a background which will hide the stats.  Delvers looks like it's attempting new oldschool - fairly basic but it doesn't grab me.  The exclamation marks and orientation bother me.
 

Any suggestions? Lightening the background? Moving it? Minimizing it?

Quote from: winkingbishop;363006

That's awesome!

Seanchai

Finally! A handy reference chart on the sheet!

Quote from: flyingmice;362983The In Harm's Way: StarCluster Character Sheet, StarPool Version:



What does it say to you?

-clash

I'm functional not sexy.

Edit: What J said too.

Regards,
David R

Quote from: flyingmice;362983What does it say to you?

-clash

It says to me that someone is not very good at layout.  For God's sake, at least get the boxes lined up!  

Overall, the piece looks like something assembled in MS Paint for a free homebrew RPG.  It reminds me of the kind of stuff I used to find on the internet in the 90s, in the heady days before POD and RPGnow ruined everything by making people think they could charge for this stuff, the kind of game with some neat ideas but that's obviously the result of one guy trying to hack it together himself.

Quote from: J Arcane;363023It says to me that someone is not very good at layout.  For God's sake, at least get the boxes lined up!  

Overall, the piece looks like something assembled in MS Paint for a free homebrew RPG.  It reminds me of the kind of stuff I used to find on the internet in the 90s, in the heady days before POD and RPGnow ruined everything by making people think they could charge for this stuff, the kind of game with some neat ideas but that's obviously the result of one guy trying to hack it together himself.

The winner! Nailed it to the doorpost, Mr. Luther.

-clash

flyingmice,

I'll not focus on the blindingly obvious parts.

Rank, Service, the game's name: Military? Agents of some other kind?

Honor and Practicality are, what, derived from Luck in some way? So "Luck" might mean more than just luck, in this setting. Also, it strikes me that dishonour and impracticality could be matters of concern.

And yes, the rest seems pretty straightforward. It involves space travel (right?!), uses stats \ skills (many) \ traits/edges, Psi is deplete-refresh, wound states instead of just HP, etc.


Anyway, glancing at the character sheet is the first step I take in assessing new RPGs, given the chance. Mightn't always be the best way, but it's what I do.